


You Can't Save Everyone

by MonPetitTresor, SpencerRemyLvr



Series: Dragon Rider AU [3]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Castiel thinks he's doing right, Godstiel - Freeform, Hurt Sam, Mental Anguish, Mental Instability, Purgatory, The Cage, but really he isn't
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-03
Updated: 2017-10-03
Packaged: 2019-01-08 16:23:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12257928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MonPetitTresor/pseuds/MonPetitTresor, https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpencerRemyLvr/pseuds/SpencerRemyLvr
Summary: T'zili and Sam head out to try and stop Castiel and save their family





	You Can't Save Everyone

**Author's Note:**

> J started this series for me, and then the two of us decided to take turns finishing it together. Hope you like it all! It's amusing

They were too late.

Sam had gone as fast he could. With T’zili able to transport them through the shadows, a form of travel that Sam was fascinated by, they managed to make it there quickly. Just, not quickly enough. Even as he stumbled his way up to the building, he knew he wasn’t going to make it. He could _feel_ the magic gathering in the air.

 **We shouldn’t have come here.** Curled up inside the hood of his sweater like it was a carrying pouch, T’zili lifted her head pressed her nose in against Sam’s neck. She’d shrunk down to her smaller size – which, considering her young age, made her quite small indeed – and so she was mostly hidden. Her unease echoed inside their bond, as did her worry. **I’m barely holding things back for us right now, Sam. If we go in there with all this magic in the air… our bond still needs time to settle in before I can protect you more. Even then, these memories…**

**_They’re strong._ **

**They are. I don’t know if I’m going to be able to keep them away for much longer.**

Sam wasn’t surprised. Honestly, he was surprised she’d managed this long. It just, it didn’t matter. He couldn’t let it matter. Right now he had to get in there and save his brother and Bobby. While the magic in the air was telling him that he was too late to stop Castiel, it didn’t mean he’d be too late to save his family. If that was all he could do, it’d be enough. He’d keep his family safe.

They found Ryk outside the building. He was in his large form, about the size of a house, and was clawing at the door, snarling furiously. The echoes of it sounded like a rockslide bearing down on them. When he saw Sam coming towards him, he paused in his attempts to get inside and turned towards him, wide eyes stunned. “Sammy.” His voice rumbled with relief and worry both. When Sam got close, that giant head lowered down so that he could get a better look at him. “I’m glad to see you up, but you shouldn’t be here.”

Sam didn’t even bother arguing it. He knew he was right where he needed to be. “Where’s Dean? Why isn’t he with you?”

A hot huff of breath blew out over Sam. Ryk turned to glare at the building once more. “Someone’s got strong enough wards I can’t get in there.”

That was… shit. That was bad. The only thing that Sam had ever seen that had the strength to ward out dragons was archangels. Normal angels didn’t seem to have that power. They also seemed a bit scared of dragons. Ryk had taught them that a dragon could kill a regular angel. It was just archangels that were stronger than them. If Ryk wasn’t able to get inside this building – that had to mean that either an archangel was in there – Raphael – or Castiel had succeeded and he was powered up by Purgatory souls. Neither option was good.

Sam and T’zili came to the same realization at almost exactly the same time. Even as he tried to prepare himself to speak to her, she snarled and shoved herself up out of his hood. Ryk drew his head back and gave a rumble of surprise, the draconic equivalent of ‘what the fuck’, as T’zili leapt onto the pad on Sam’s shoulder and braced there so that she was free to shove her face towards his and glare at him. “You’re not going in there alone!”

“I have to.” He couldn’t do anything else. Dean was in there. Bobby was in there. They _needed_ him. **_Zili, I’ve got to. He’s my brother_** _._

**And you’re my Rider!**

**_I have to_**. With gentle hands, he reached up and caught hold of her, lifting her up under her front legs like one would pick up a child by their armpits. He was just as gentle as he shifted and set her on top of the head that had lowered down in front of him. Though Sam had no doubt that Ryk had plenty of questions, he said not a word as he gave Sam a small nod, a silent promise to watch over the young dragon. It was the best that Sam could hope for. She’d be safe with him, the dragon who bonded his brother, who had looked out for him for years. “Keep her safe.” Sam said softly. Then, before he could stop himself or overthink it, he turned around and hurried inside.

There was power in the air as Sam moved silently through the building. The further in he got, the stronger it became.

And the shakier his mind felt.

Being away from T’zili seemed to be lessening the protection she’d put over his mind and his memories. Flames licked at the edges of his mind and Sam had to fight hard to ignore it.

He heard the sound of a low cackle and the soft jingling of chains. The urge to vomit was one he almost couldn’t control.

Pushing hard against those memories – _just a little longer, just need to make it a little further –_ he focused on the space ahead of him. Somewhere in the distance, he thought he could hear voices. The further in he got, the clearer they became. That was Dean talking, clearly trying to talk Castiel down, trying to get him to _stop_. Hearing his begging, hearing him ask Castiel to give it all back, to just let it go, made it clear that Sam really was too late. Castiel had taken on all that power. It was inside of him now, and he was dangerous. And as little as Sam liked it, he’d protect his family from this new danger. He’d do what he had to – what he knew Dean would never be able to bring himself to do.

That was what prompted him forward and towards the angel blade lying on the ground. With careful movements, trying his hardest to make not a sound, he bent and picked it up. He caught Bobby’s eye as he straightened. The older man looked sad in that moment, but determined. He gave Sam a small nod. One that clearly said ‘do it’.

Castiel shifted and the power around him shifted as well. It was cloying; nauseating, being this close to it.

“You’re not my family, Dean. I have no family.”

It was one of the hardest things that Sam had ever done, lifting that blade and shoving it inside of someone he’d called friend.

But more terrifying than that was watching Castiel stay standing, watching him pull the blade out like it was _nothing_. Or as he stood before them and declared that he was the new God, a better one, and calmly told them that they would “Bow down and profess your love to me, your Lord… or I shall destroy you.”

* * *

They knelt. What else could they do? There was no power that could fight him. Only, it wasn’t enough for him. He wanted them to bow out of love, not fear.

Sam could barely keep track of what came next. With each passing second he could feel the protection that T’zili had given him slowly fading away even more. The smoke that had protected his mind was almost gone now. Screams were mixing in with the laughter now, and a cold sweat broke out over his body. Vaguely, he heard Dean begging for Castiel to fix him, and he didn’t need to hear Castiel’s words to know it wasn’t going to happen. However, he did hear him, loud and clear, as the angel said “Be grateful. I could have cast you back in the pit.”

The casual way that he said that was chilling. It was also something that Sam wouldn’t forget.

Inside his bond, he felt T’zili fear and anger, and he swore he heard her screams echoing with Ryk’s now. Everything in her was focused on getting inside – getting to Sam.

Then suddenly, Castiel was gone, and so was the warding.

Sam had just barely hit the floor when he felt T’zili’s presence speeding to his side. Someone was calling out Sam’s name, it sounded like Dean, and he wanted to answer it but he couldn’t. God, he couldn’t. His mind, it was ripping apart, shredding to pieces as the memories rushed into him. Screams echoed in his ears and he wasn’t sure if they were from him now, or him in his memories.

There was no telling how badly it might’ve all sucked him under if it hadn’t been for T’zili. One minute she was racing towards him and the next she was right there with him. Sam was on all fours when she hit him and he ended up landing on his hip on the side, just barely keeping from hitting more of the broken glass. T’zili was the size of a housecat again and she was pressing herself against him, her tail wrapping tightly around his bicep and her claws shredding his shirt a little from the force of their impact. “Sam, Sam! **Sam, look at me!** ” The last part was said both out loud and inside his head, and it was enough to make him realize that he’d been drifting again even as he’d tried to curl an arm in to hold her.

Off to the side, someone made a sound of surprise. Someone else started to laugh in the background, high and cold.

T’zili braced her front feet on Sam’s shoulders and shoved her face right in against his, cheek to cheek. At the same time her smoke was filling his head once more, shoving against the memories and trying to force them back. He let her in, just as he’d let her in before. Her soothing presence twined all through him until Sam felt his body start to relax. She was here. She was here, and so was Dean, and that meant he was safe. He didn’t have to keep holding on.

**I’ve got you, my Rider. You’re safe now – I’ve got you.**

With those reassuring words, Sam stopped fighting and let go. He let himself sink down into the soothing flow of smoke and shadows through his mind.

* * *

Humans could be such _annoying_ creatures. T’zili pressed herself closer to Sam’s heart and nuzzled a little against his bare skin. Nearby, she could hear the humans _still_ arguing. They’d been doing it ever since they got Sam out of that stupid building and outside. Once out there, they’d laid him in the backseat of their car—after Ryk flipped it back over for them—and then they’d proceeded to stand outside and _argue_ like _idiots._ The few humans she’d known so far hadn’t been quite like this. Was it a typical human thing, to behave this way, and the ones that she’d dealt with so far were just different, or were these ones different?

Not that it mattered. The only human that mattered was the one she was lying on. T’zili hadn’t removed herself from Sam once since she’d gotten into the building. She was in her smaller form now to make it easier to lie with him. Once they’d gotten his big body settled in the seat, she’d climbed underneath his sweater and shirt to curl up over his stomach and chest, content that the older dragon would watch their little clan. There, she could monitor his heartbeat and keep pouring magic through their bond to try and protect his mind.

It’d be a lot easier to do if they’d get them out of here, though. Sam needed a real bed.

T’zili pushed her head out the top of Sam’s shirt and turned to glare out the open door towards the two men arguing. They were rambling about where to go and what to do, and if the car would even work, and she was done with it. “Either the two of you find a way to get us out of here soon, or I’m taking him on my own _without you_.”

“Calm down, hatchling,” Ryk rumbled at her from above the car. Then she heard him shift and his next words were directed to the others. “She’s right, though. Sam needs to get somewhere safe, now. He’s hurt and their bond is still too new; it’s got her on edge.”

“Since when does he even _have_ a bond?” The younger human demanded. Dean, she knew, once she looked at him. He was in her memories – Sam’s memories, drifting through the bond.

Growling, T’zili pushed her head out a little more to better be able to glare at him. “Since your so-called friend decided to rip down Sam’s Wall and _fracture_ his soul. Now, I’m trying to help him, but it’d go a lot easier if we were somewhere safe while we did it. Or anywhere other than the back of this ridiculous monstrosity of a car.” That said, she yanked her head back in and pressed her face to Sam’s chest once more. He was still unconscious, despite her yelling, and she could feel the mess inside his head.

There was the sound of a scuffle and then another man’s voice. “You know she’s right, boy.” Bobby. That had to be Bobby. T’zili could see him in Sam’s memories. Feel just how much her bonded loved him. He was like a friend, uncle, and father-figure all rolled into one. Though there was no one that filled that ‘father’ slot more than Dean. He was brother, father, mother, friend, pain-in-the-ass, and everything important to Sam. “Their bond’s new and I’m guessing they aint had time to really cement it, which is gonna put em both on edge. Add in that he’s hurtin’ an it’s just gonna be worse. We need to get em somewhere she can hole em up for a while.”

That sounded perfect. T’zili liked this human, he was smart. Every one of T’zili’s instincts was demanding she get her Rider somewhere safe and secure until he had a chance to heal a little. Somewhere _warded_ , too, if there was any way to ward against a being who’d made himself into the new God.

She listened for a moment more until she was sure that they were going to pay attention and get them out of here. Once she was sure of that, she curled in closer to Sam and turned her focus to him. He was all that mattered right now.

* * *

It took longer than she liked for them to get to someplace safe. It ended up being Bobby’s place again, which was smart. Going back to their nest. T’zili waited until they had their broken down car parked outside before she used her powers to transport Sam. With her focus on his mind, she hadn’t had the strength to travel them, not all the way back from where they’d been. Much as she hated it, she’d stretched herself a bit too far today, and she needed to rest and eat. Trying to keep Sam safe wasn’t helping, either. It was just pushing her more and more.

But, getting him inside, getting him into the bed she’d seen in his memories, the one she knew he considered ‘his’, helped a lot. As did the ability to shut the bedroom door and make sure it was locked. No one was getting inside without her permission. The last thing she did was shut off the light, though she left the curtains open enough to leave some light filtering in. Shadows were where she was comfortable and where she’d be able to protect him best.

That left her free to curl up under his sweater again. It was nicer like this, skin to scales. The contact soothed them both. Sam acted like he was starved for touch and T’zili had no problems giving it to him. She’d found pretty quickly that she liked the feel of his skin against hers. She liked being able to touch him and nuzzle him. Each time she did, their bond warmed.

T’zili had been in her egg for a long time. Longer than most, she knew. But she’d been waiting – waiting for this. For the call of her Rider. When she’d felt his distress, she’d broken out of her egg and fought to get enough power together to go to him, to follow the call of their bond. And she’d arrived not a moment too soon.

Her Rider’s soul was so _damaged_. So scarred! He’d been through things no one should ever have to go through. He’d been _hurt_.

Well, not anymore! Anything that wanted to hurt him was going to have to go through her. And as she spread her wings out under his sweater and let them wrap over his sides, she vowed to fight tooth and claw against anything that tried to get near him.


End file.
